Who is in More Trouble: Wilders or The Netherlands?

"Freedom of speech is a great thing and we have said nothing that is not allowed." — Geert Wilders, MP and leader of the Party of Freedom.

Now, the police have apparently decided to become part of the prosecution. They have drafted pre-filled "Wilders forms" to press charges and have offered to come to people's homes to help them fill out the paperwork.

Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders again made international headlines. Nazi comparisons are rampant, self-proclaimed victims are lining up to sue and now more than ever there is a chance that Wilders actually might be convicted of hate speech.

In an interview on the Dutch Public News Service [NOS] on March 12, Wilders said (10:10): "[People] will now be voting for a safer, a more social, and... in any case a city with fewer costs, and, if at all possible, with fewer Moroccans."

Wilders has the numbers to support his concern. Statistics show that 65% of all Moroccan youths have been arrested by police, and that one third of that group have been arrested more than five times.

Wilders emphasizes the inordinate costs associated with the disproportionately high number of Dutch Moroccans registered as social welfare beneficiaries and who are implicated in welfare fraud.

Based on those numbers, Wilders seems to imply that if there were not such a large number of Moroccans, Dutch crime rates and social welfare costs would significantly drop.

Wilder proposes that Dutch Moroccans who are habitual criminal offenders should be deprived of their Dutch passports and sent back to Morocco, an act that is possible as all Moroccans and their descendants are, by Moroccan law, prohibited from relinquishing their Moroccan passports.

Dutch Moroccan criminals are known to be highly indifferent to sentences in Dutch prisons, which are known for their comfort. In a majority, Dutch prisons are populated by Dutch Moroccans.

Moroccans also apparently derive status from prison sentences. Evidently, upon their release, many gloat. Apparently it is only the thought of having to trade the luxury of the Netherlands -- even prison -- for Morocco that strikes terror into the hearts of potential offenders. In Italy, the same threat is already in effect and acts as a successful deterrent. It seems as if it is only the threat of deportation, more than any other measure, that is likely to deter young Moroccans from a life of crime.

Although the proposal is being used by Wilders's opponents as either a laughing stock or beating stick, the merits of the proposal are rarely elaborated on, including even by Wilders. A recent poll showed 76% of Dutch voters to be in favor of the measure.

The NOS, interviewing Wilders again on March 14, asked him if he actually meant what he had said regarding Moroccans in general, possibly expecting him to say that he had only been referring to Dutch Moroccan criminals. But Wilders stood firm. He emphasized that his concern lay with the number of Moroccans currently flooding the crime statistics, and repeatedly stated, "The fewer Moroccans, the better."

"Can you imagine that people are startled by your remarks?" he was asked.

"It is unfortunate if people are startled by the truth," he said.

This latest round of anger against Wilders began after the announcement of voting results on March 19. At the end of his victory speech, Wilders remarked, "And the third question is, and I'm actually not allowed to say this, because I'm being sued, and there might even be Social Democrat DAs that would prosecute me, but freedom of speech is a great thing, and we have said nothing that is not allowed. We have said nothing that is not accurate. So I am asking you now: Do you want, in this city and the Netherlands, more or fewer Moroccans?" The crowd replied: "Fewer, fewer, fewer!"

That time, however, after the event, Wilders did nuance his views. He stated that he was referring to criminals, and only in favor of the voluntary repatriation of law-abiding Moroccans.

Now the police have apparently decided to become part of the prosecution. They have drafted pre-filled "Wilders forms" to press charges and have offered to come to people's homes to fill out the paperwork.

Is Wilders a racist? He recently tweeted: "Support for Moroccan businesswomen Elou Akhiat. It is a shame she receives death threats over opening a wine bar."

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13 Reader Comments

Jay Murray • Apr 30, 2014 at 20:30

Why is so much of the Western world so afraid of pointing out problems caused by immigrants to their country? It is true that many immigrants just want a better life for their families and so seek opportunities outside of their homeland. They obey the laws of the host country and contribute to their adopted country. But of course, there are many other immigrants who seem bent on destroying the country that graciously allowed them entrance. Geert is correct in his assessment of what is going on in his country and he is not afraid of speaking out, regardless of the consequences. I applaud him and his efforts. We here in the US are seeing similar problems and people are beginning to see what is happening and how little our government is doing to address these problems. Our hope is to find a politician that has the courage to take up the task of reining in the people on our shores who are causing problems such as yours. Please keep up the good work - we need to make sure no one in either of our countries succeeds in curtailing free speech under the guise of hate speech.

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Dirk van der Haar • Apr 29, 2014 at 18:43

Everybody knows he meant criminal Moroccans. For the good order, Wilders has no problem at all with Moroccans and/or Muslims, if they integrate and respect our habits. If we move to an Islamic country, we are expected to integrate to their rules. So we expect the same from them if they move over here. Surprise, over here we have to integrate to their rules as well, which is unacceptable.

But there is more. All the problems in the world, including the monetary crisis and the problems with the Crimea and Russia, are caused by the Bilderberg Group, especially the Dutch Royals, the Rothschilds, the Clintons, the Bushes, the Rockefellers, the Nixons, etc. JFK had a clear vision about the New World Order as he mentioned in his speech. Seven days later he was assassinated.

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John • Apr 29, 2014 at 04:08

The Qu'ran, translated from Arabic to English, clearly states that Jews and Christians are to be either made submissive to Islam as 'lessor' citizens of any Muslim dominated country, pay a tax to Islam for the aforementioned status, convert, or eventually be killed for being an infidel. Radical fundamental Islam allied itself with Hitler in WWII as a way to have a hand in eliminating Judaism (Jews) that might eventually resettle to a Jewish state in Israel. They have taken that banner from the ashes of Nazism and added to it a wide religion that combines religious traditions and religious law that not only run contradictory to our laws, but our faith and politics as well. Islam clearly states that it will not leave the other religions alone to compete for adherents or believers, but will force under threat of death, all other religions and political systems to slowly be overcome by massive shifts in Muslim demographics (i.e., voters) supporting Sharia law.

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Dallas • Apr 28, 2014 at 12:33

Sad to see that liberal democracies by their tolerant and trusting nature are about as vulnerable as the dodo bird was to the sailors who could walk up and club them, and we all know what happened to the dodo.

I don't know why we seem unable to refine our laws, like a spam filter, to identify and counteract the legal sedition inherent in our legal systems.

As important as our physical protection is the protection of the intent of our laws and moral systems, neglect of which will cause our civilization to crumble at its foundations.

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B C Wade • Apr 27, 2014 at 20:26

Every country in the world today needs a Geert Wilders to make people realise the dangers of the impending takeover by this vile and barbaric religion and its followers.The Muslim culture is not a race, so to call Geert Wilders a racist for wanting the protection of his heritage and his homeland is disgusting, and the police and all involved authorities are traitors to their country.

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Gnarlodious • Apr 26, 2014 at 10:40

…and it looks like a caricature of the past.

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Willem Hekman • Apr 25, 2014 at 06:03

Geert Wilders is loyal Dutchman who desires that the Netherlands remain a safe and pleasant place to live and work. With Moslem influx the condition is rapidly changing. I fully agree with Wilders to restrict Moslem immigration into the Netherlands. Look at Islamic nations such as Syria and Egypt and the chaotic conditions that exist there. An example is Japan where there are very few Moslem immigrants and it is a safe place to live and work and establish a family. Wilders is a brave individual and he expresses the feelings and thoughts of at least 10 million Dutchmen. Keep it up, Wilders, be not removed from your leadership of the Dutch Freedom Party so that Netherlands remain free and safe.

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Barbara Griffith • Apr 24, 2014 at 20:04

I would say the Netherlands because the voters there want rid of the millions of Moroccan trouble makers just like the US voters, including me, want the illegal aliens that sneak into the US from all of the South American third world countries sent home. On many of the blogs when an article comes out in any of the newspapers on line 99% of the comments are to deport the illegal aliens. It costs billions in US taxpayer dollars to support the illegal aliens that are living in this country. That is the same way the voters in the Netherlands feel.

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R.H. • Apr 24, 2014 at 16:20

Wilders is just the man to purge Holland of the unwanted, alien invaders who are infesting the nation. Reclaim Holland for the Dutch people, and the sooner the better!

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Ephesian • Apr 24, 2014 at 11:50

Geert Wilders is one brave gentleman and I applaud his morality and his honesty.The day that free speech dies, such as "death to British soldiers!" seen (and allowed in England) then so does freedom. No man can be prosecuted for speaking the truth and if the powers that be refuse to see what is happening on a daily basis right in front of them, that that is their problem. Ignoring it won't make it go away! I pray daily for Geert and for all people that stand up for the truth. If "death to British soldiers" is allowed in Britain then people who speak the truth must be allowed to do so.

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Antony Wibberley • Apr 24, 2014 at 11:12

I find it terribly sad when a European country stands with immigrants when that section of immigrants is statistically responsible for so much crime and welfare expense. Geert Wilders is a national treasure and the Netherlands should be proud of him. So few, because of political correctness, are afraid of speaking the truth through fear of offending others. If I was a Dutch national, Mr. Wilders would get my vote every time.

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Edward Cline • Apr 24, 2014 at 10:47

Timon Dias remarked: "Dutch Moroccan criminals are known to be highly indifferent to sentences in Dutch prisons, which are known for their comfort. In a majority, Dutch prisons are populated by Dutch Moroccans." It isn't just the Moroccans who are indifferent. I haven't read a single story about Muslims anywhere in Europe who have murdered non-Muslims, raped non-Muslims, robbed non-Muslims, beat or tortured non-Muslims and have expressed not remorse, but either indifference or laughing contempt for their victims. Just the other day there was a story of four Muslims in France who abducted a 16 year old French girl, stripped her, gang raped her, beat her, stole all her belongings, and left her for dead in a park. So, it isn't just Moroccans. It's Turks, Somalians, "Arabs," Pakistanis, and other ethnic Muslims. And there's another point to emphasize here: While critics of Islam are invariably called "racist" -- even though Islam is not a race, but an ideology subscribed to by different races around the globe -- it's Muslim criminals settled in the West who are racist, because the majority of their victims, whatever the crime committed against them, are white. Perhaps we should adopt a new term, "Caucasiaphobia," and counter-charge Muslims with it.

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Bart Benschop • Apr 24, 2014 at 06:32

Dear Sir,

The issue of the pre-filled-out complaints were done by the Dutch Minister for Justice, who is a Member of the Green Left faction trying to stir up the popularity of Mr. Geert Wilders in the upcoming elections for the EU Parliament.